Today's Opinions

Your Jan. 5 article “Virginia utility to pay $14B for SCANA Corp.” points out that the acquisition of SCANA by Dominion Energy will result in an average refund of $1,000 and a 5 percent rate reduction for SCE&G customers.
While this deal marks a step in the right direction, I believe the question we should ask for any proposed solution to the nuclear debacle should be: “Is this the best deal for all of our hardworking families across South Carolina?” Period.

The S.C. legislative session started Tuesday, and a common theme in our recent state governance is that much of the legislation that’s proposed would do more harm than good.
Unfortunately, if recently prefiled legislation (bills filed in advance for the upcoming year) is any indication, 2018 will be more of the same.
While some proposals seem well thought out, others simply lack all signs of common sense. Here is a quick rundown of some of the more ridiculous prefile bills from the House alone.

What is it that makes Lancaster unique? What are our identifiers? How can we incorporate those into your 21st century public library system?
It’s all about the citizens who live here – every single one. A library is democracy in action. No one person’s needs supersede another’s.
A new baby goes home from the hospital with a free board book from the library’s Born to Read program. A retiree can find a comfortable chair and enjoy The Charlotte Observer (print version) for free. Microfilm of The Lancaster News dates back to 1905.

There is a wolf in sheep’s clothing working its way through our state legislature.
The bill purports to be a transparency bill, but it is anything but. And it will hide how millions of taxpayer dollars are spent.
The wording begins saying any nonprofit entity that “received more than one hundred dollars in public funds from a state agency or political subdivision in the previous calendar year or the current calendar year, must submit a quarterly expenditure report to the jurisdiction awarding the funds.”
That sounds great.

With the arrival of 2018, it’s time again for resolutions, changes and goals.
Many of us celebrated New Year’s Eve with family and friends, attending parties or church services across Lancaster County. But aside from all the celebrating, it is important that we reflect on the year we’ve had here.

It’s like talking to a wall when you try to enlighten the left.
A person wrote in and said the tax cuts were a “lump of coal.” You’re keeping more of your money (since you worked for it), getting a raise in the child tax credit from $1,000 to $1,600, and businesses are getting a cut to boost the economy. How is that a lump of coal?

This is a response to Christine Taylor’s Dec. 22 letter criticizing President Trump and defending Barack Obama.
Does she not know that we elected Trump to get rid of Obama’s failed policies? His health-care plan was a rip off from the start. The health industry has seen profits more than double, at our expense.
The homeless and poor she speaks of are not covered under the Affordable Care Act. They are in Medicaid. I agree with her that we need to help those truly in need.

What are you planning to change in 2018?
This is a question we are all asked each New Year. I have been looking back at responses I received from students while I was teaching K4 and K5 in the late ’90s.
Let me share some examples, exactly as written by the students, with their own thoughts and their own style of language at ages 4 and 5. These wonderful children were good writers for their age.
◆ 5-year-old girl: “I wants to cook My mommy wrks lot an bonly sambich get well they get yuck.”